🔗 Share this article

Amid all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head about his chances of securing his first drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to eighty-three points available across the remaining trio of events. However, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind his teammate following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the top of the championship.

"It can quickly turn the opposite way again even though I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still do see it as something that remains distant."

Norris has discovered his best form at a crucial moment—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—at the same time that Piastri has lost the controlled, almost flawless ease that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris kept a remarkable level of equanimity all along, asserting despite challenges—such as his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work each session with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been something of torturous process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad instructed Piastri to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris following he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are leading, a lot of people try to bring you down. They do not want to see you winning. I consider it a positive sign," he remarked.

"It amuses me. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I really enjoyed it. It was quite satisfying. You finally feel like you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the correct manner, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. These are the only two circuits this season where McLaren have been unable to secure at least one podium place, and Norris was cautious once more about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the short term is simple: finish in ahead of Piastri and the points he requires will follow.

Friday Running Shows Varied Results for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc topped the times in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and extremely slippery track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. During the more indicative evening session of FP2, Norris was quickest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the practice lost nearly the final 20 minutes of running to check a suspected unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the practice to be aborted.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a fifteen percent share in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Wolff will stay on as team principal and may receive as much as £230m from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a record for an F1 team.